Former Knicks Forward Suspended For Violating Drug Policy

One of the teams chasing the New York Knicks has been dealt a major blow.

Nov 8, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis (9) looks to pass the ball against New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Chasing the New York Knicks on the Eastern Conference leaderboard, the Milwaukee Bucks are dealing with a situation involving a former Manhattanite.

Per Shams Charania of ESPN, former Knick and current Buck Bobby Portis has been dealt a 25-game suspension for violation of the NBA's drug policy. Portis spent the 2019-20 season with the Knicks and has since established a role as a dominant depth star with the Bucks.

Portis' agent Mark Bartelstein released a statement, obtained by Charania, in which he labeled the incident "an honest mistake," one where his client mistakenly took the banned substance Tramadol rather than the approved Toradol.

"Bobby works tirelessly on increasing his performance in all natural, legal, healthy ways, but he made a mistake and took a pill that unknowingly he should not have," Bartelstein's statement reads in part. "Today, in this instance, I am so deeply disappointed that the NBA chooses to interpret its policy so strictly, and that the policy does not allow for a different result for an honest mistake with pure intentions."

Portis, who turned 30 earlier this month, is averaging 13.7 points and 8.3 rebounds as the first man off Milwaukee's bench and his finished third in Sixth Man of the Year voting in consecutive seasons. Entering Thursday night play, the Bucks (29-24) sit in fifth place on the Eastern Conference playoff bracket, 6.5 games behind the Knicks. One more meeting between the Knicks and Bucks awaits on March 28 in Milwaukee.

With 53 games on the Bucks' ledgers, Portis would be eligible to return for the team's April 8 game against Minnesota.

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